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Health Monitor: Chanel (Raven Bowens, r.) has a bad feeling about Paulina’s (Jackée Harry) health.
Chanel’s concern over Paulina’s health escalates, causing her to take action and bring her mom to the hospital.
“Paulina isn’t herself,” sets up Raven Bowens (Chanel). “Chanel’s seeing that her mother is a lot more tired than she usually is. She doesn’t have the same zest for life that she usually has. Because Chanel and Paulina are so close, Chanel notices that something is wrong pretty quickly, ever though Paulina is trying to cover it.”
After Paulina turns down the idea of going Christmas shopping with Chanel, allegedly due to work, Chanel finds her asleep on the couch again. This escalates Chanel’s worry. “Paulina’s always doing something. She’s always busy,” points out. Bowens. “The first time, Chanel was like, ‘Okay, maybe she’s tired. But the second time, it’s like, ‘Something may actually be wrong here, because this isn’t Paulina. This is out of the ordinary.’ ”
When Paulina’s health continues to deteriorate, Chanel insists she get checked out by a doctor. “Of course, she’s resistant. She doesn’t want to go,” says Bowens. “They dealt with this before when Paulina was having panic attacks — she didn’t want to go to the hospital for any of that. It’s one of the things in the Black community, especially, where we don’t get the health care that we need because we’re so used to staying away from doctors. It’s just a thing that we’re trying to reshape, how we view Western health, because traditionally, that’s how we are. We pointed that out in those episodes. I love when we’re dealing with health stuff that we take it seriously, because I think it’s really important.”
Once at the hospital, Chanel calls Johnny, who’s helping a lonely Holly celebrate her birthday. When Johnny leaves to go support Chanel, an upset Holly gets drunk and later calls and berates him for leaving her alone on her special day. According to Bowens, “Chanel doesn’t see Holly as a real threat. She sees her as a little girl with a crush. And Chanel also has ultimate trust in Johnny. At the end of the day, Chanel is a good person with a lot of integrity, so she’s like, ‘Look, it’s Holly’s birthday. Go be there for her. It will make her day. It won’t hurt mine.’ Besides, they’re just waiting there [at the hospital]. Nothing is going on. So Chanel tells Johnny to go be there for his stepsister.”
While Paulina and Chanel wait for Paulina to be examined by a doctor, “Paulina’s nervous and trying to hide it,” notes Bowens. “That’s a common thread with Paulina and Chanel. They love each other so much that they don’t ever want to make each other worry. They try to be strong for each another. That’s their way of life.”
But Chanel can’t shake feeling that something is seriously awry witj her mother’s health. “Paulina has become her best friend, especially since Allie left town,” says Bowens. “I don’t think Chanel could survive without her mother. They have a very co-dependent relationship. Chanel is definitely hoping for the best, but she knows her mom really well and has a gut feeling that something is going on.”
